The Campfire’s Last Ember

[Verse 1] The whistle cries where the coyotes once sang, Steel tracks cut through the land like a hangman’s chain. The cowboy’s gone with the dust and the dawn, His saddle’s empty, his wild heart withdrawn. [Verse 2] The freighters bowed to the iron and steam, Their wagons swallowed by time like a dream. The gumbo dried where their oxen once strained, Now the rails run black where the prairies remained. [Chorus] Oh, the campfire’s cold and the stories are told, Of silver and stars and the nights we rode bold. But the west ain’t the same, just a ghost in the rain, And the last ember flickers—gone with the wind’s refrain. [Verse 3] I remember the coffee, bitter and strong, The coyote’s hymn we all echoed along. No debts to our names, just the sky and the road, Now the fences creep in where the mustangs once roamed. [Bridge] These old hands shake like the tracks when they race, Our ponies turned to shadows, no hoof left to trace. Soon the heavens’ll call, and the riders’ll rise, Through the Gates—just a spark in God’s eyes. [Chorus – Reprise] Oh, the campfire’s cold and the stories are told, Of silver and stars and the nights we rode bold. But the west ain’t the same, just a ghost in the rain, And the last ember flickers—gone with the wind’s refrain. [Outro] So sing it low where the telegraph hums, A hymn for the free, for the vagabond ones. The steel won’t rust, nor the memories fade, But the cowboy’s spirit—can’t be chained to the grade. [Spoken outro] "You know, time moves on… but some stories ain’t meant for steel. They’re written in dust—whispered back by the wind."